For once, Kikukawa Kyo wasn't late. In fact, she arrived at school even earlier than usual—but even so, when she stepped into the classroom, she found Sakiko already sitting at her desk.
"Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening~ Sakiko, you're here so early! I actually woke up way too early today. Thought I might beat you here for once."
"Good day, Kyo."
Sakiko studied Kyo's expression carefully, but the fleeting hint of fragility she'd seen yesterday was already gone.
"Did you figure things out? About what you asked me yesterday… about your playing feeling soulless?"
Kyo rummaged through her bag for a juice box, then hung her bag from the desk, sitting sideways in her seat to face Sakiko, who was sitting at the desk behind her.
"My problem isn't solved, actually." Kyo didn't look troubled at all as she said it; in fact, she seemed to enjoy sipping her juice through the straw, taking her time.
"If anything, I'm pretty pessimistic about whether the issues I have can be fixed anytime soon."
Sakiko frowned slightly, her tone turning serious as she pressed, "So how are you now?"
"Hmm…" Kyo cradled her juice in one hand and hugged herself with the other, striking a thoughtful pose. "I've managed to adjust my mindset again, thanks to Anon and Tomori. Yesterday, when I was feeling down, they told me a few things that helped."
"I see—so it was Anon and Tomori."
Sakiko lowered her gaze and went back to reading the textbook she'd had open.
Kyo was a little surprised by her reaction. It was rare for Sakiko to look away in the middle of a conversation, refusing to meet her eyes. "Why the sudden long face?"
"It's nothing. I'm actually happy you're back to your usual self."
"You really don't sound happy, though." Kyo tossed her juice box onto her desk and bent forward a little, trying to catch Sakiko's lowered gaze. "If you're not upset, then you're just sulking, aren't you? That hug you gave me really meant a lot, you know."
Even if, at first, it actually made things worse…
Kyo made no effort to lower her voice. It was still early, and only a few studious kids and today's class duty students had shown up. But just the phrase "Sakiko and Kyo hugged" was enough to make Sakiko want to die of embarrassment if anyone overheard.
In fact, a few nearby students had already picked up on the key words and were now glancing over, interest piqued.
Sakiko, who'd wanted to ignore Kyo for now, instinctively pressed her finger to her lips. "Keep it down!"
Kyo obligingly went quiet, then simply sprawled across Sakiko's desk, smiling up at her.
Once again, she'd lost ground in her little "battle" with Kyo.
Sakiko sighed. "If you're back to normal, then there's no need to keep talking about what we discussed last time, right?"
"But I told you, I still haven't solved my problem. I wanted to hear what you think, Sakiko." Kyo cocked her head.
"So… you want to tell me now?"
It was strange, but someone like Kyo having a problem that could make her so lost—Sakiko couldn't help but be curious. Even yesterday, while working at the bookstore, she'd found herself wondering if she should ask Yutenchou (the manager) for advice.
But in the end, she hadn't brought it up—not because she was worried Kiyokawa Yu would refuse to tell her, but because, deep down, Sakiko wanted to hear more about Kyo directly from Kyo herself.
But Kyo shook her head, finally remembering to lower her voice: "It'd be kind of complicated to explain, and this isn't really the right place for it, either."
To make her point, she struck a deliberately mysterious pose. "After all, it's pretty private. Telling you would feel about as embarrassing as standing naked in front of you."
"..."
Is it really that serious? Sakiko thought. And does she have to use that metaphor?
Kyo didn't seem bothered and went right on.
"Next time you're free, why don't you come over to my place?"
"Alright."
Just like that, the topic ended. But as soon as Kyo turned away, something else popped into her head and she turned back around.
"Something else?"
"I ended up joining Anon's band. I'm not sure how long I'll stick with it, but… I'll at least play one live show with them."
"I see." Sakiko lowered her head again, pretending not to care.
But Kyo knew full well that Sakiko's ears were listening intently to every word.
"Taki and Soyo have already agreed to join, too."
Sakiko let out a breath. Hearing her old friends were starting a new band together stirred up a lot of emotions, but in the end, what she felt most was relief.
"And my role in this band is keyboardist."
"Huh?" Sakiko frowned reflexively, jerking her head up to stare at Kyo. Her expression was complicated—surprise, and even a trace of irritation.
"Did Soyo put you up to it?"
"Eh?" Kyo blinked, genuinely surprised by Sakiko's reaction. Thinking about it, it was kind of because of Soyo that she'd decided to be the keyboardist, but it wasn't Soyo herself who'd asked.
"No, it was my own decision, although Soyo was part of the reason. Why do you ask?"
As if remembering something unpleasant, Sakiko rubbed her forehead and sighed.
"Because Soyo… she's just never able to let go. When you said she joined a new band, I thought maybe she'd finally moved on. But now that you say you suddenly became the keyboardist, I figured maybe she—"
She didn't finish, but Kyo understood what she meant.
Sakiko probably assumed Soyo was treating this new band as a replacement for CRYCHIC, even wanting Kyo to fill the missing keyboardist's spot.
"Hah, well, you're not wrong, in a way."
Kyo smiled. The reason she'd volunteered to be keyboardist was almost the opposite of what Sakiko imagined: she wanted to help Soyo let go of Sakiko, so she stepped in herself.
In the end, it all came back to Soyo, who just couldn't stop clinging to the past.